What’s a Bitcoin Really Worth? CoinDesk Thinks It Has the Answer.

As I write this right now, bitcoins are being traded on Mt. Gox, the embattled but most prominent bitcoin exchange, for about $132. At the same time, over on the Bitstamp exchange, bitcoins are trading for about 10 percent less — at $119 apiece. For those who want to believe that bitcoin has the potential for mainstream adoption, such a value gap is a problem — one that highlights the volatility of the ecosystem. Enter, CoinDesk, the London-based bitcoin news site, which is today launching the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index , which “aims to establish the price reference for industry participants and accounting professionals,” CoinDesk Contributing Editor Jon Matonis wrote in an email to AllThingsD . CoinDesk’s price index will be calculated by averaging out bitcoin prices across exchanges that meet three criteria: Their minimum trade sizes less than $1,500, eliminating whole...